Green gas? Montana State performs algae biofuel research

BOZEMAN, Mont. – Montana State University is taking part in research that would turn algae into biofuel.

The Department of Energy has invested in a three million dollar grant which will fund a collaboration project between Montana State, the University of Toledo, and the University of North Carolina. Researchers discovered algae in an Eastern Washington Lake and think that it can easily be used with only the ambient Carbon Dioxide in the air. Researchers at Montana State are hoping to find a cost-effective way for better energy habits in the future.

“They are trying to build an algae-based economy, I’m not saying algae can replace everything we do right now, with oil that we pump out of the ground, but ultimately we can not only produce fuels, but we can also produce bioproducts, like plastics, pharmaceuticals, bio-degradable plastics, and so on,” MSU Associate Professor Dr. Robin Gerlach said.

The project is supposed to take three years.

Carson Vickroy

Carson joined the KBZK and KXLF news team in January of 2018 as a weekend meteorologist and weekday reporter.